V Muralidharan Predicts BJP Victory in T'Puram

Predicting a BJP victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, BJP state president V Muralidharan said here on Friday that the BJP would open its account in the state this time.

He added that O Rajagopal, the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, would be made a Union Minister in the event of the NDA coming to power at the Centre.

A preliminary assessment has forecast a victory in Thiruvananthapuram and big strides for the BJP in the other constituencies, the BJP state president told a press conference here.

A clear picture would emerge at a final panchayat-to-Lok Sabha constituency-level assessment by the state leadership, election co-coordinators and the candidates on May 1 here, he said.

“In 2009, we had a vote share of six per cent in the state. This time it will go up,” he said.

The CPM and Congress votes have “leaked” in a big way to the BJP in Kerala, Muralidharan said, responding to the Congress-BJP nexus allegation by CPM’s M A Baby and the BJP-CPM tie-up charge levelled by Congress’s K Muraleedharan.

“Our votes have not drained out. But Congress and CPM votes have leaked to us. They shouldn’t blame us for their votes getting leaked,” Muralidharan said.

Public anger against CPM-Congress hookups in the past one year and the impression that the Left would support the Congress at the Centre after the elections have benefited the BJP in the Lok Sabha election, he said.

To a question, he said that the BJP had received good support from the Nair and Ezhava communities this time.

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